How to Recover Between Comrades Long Runs: A Week-by-Week Protocol

Every Comrades runner I've worked with makes the same mistake in the build: they train the long runs and leave the recovery to chance. Here is the protocol we use at the hub, adapted for home. It assumes a Sunday long run and a Tuesday session.

Sunday, straight after the run

• Walk 10 minutes. Don't sit down in the car park.
• Fuel within 30 minutes. Carbs and protein, roughly 3:1.
• Compression boots, 20–30 minutes at low pressure once you're home and showered. The six-chamber system is what the hub uses; if you don't own one, a clinic session on Sunday afternoon is worth every rand in a 30km-plus week.

Sunday evening

• Massage gun, 8–10 minutes. Calves, quads, glutes, 60 seconds each side, floating the head, no pressing. The Lite V1 at level 8–12 is enough.
• Sleep 8 hours. Non-negotiable in the build. Track it if you can.

Monday

• Easy 30-minute walk or spin. No running.
• Compression again if legs are heavy. Percussion on anything tight.
• Calf sleeves if you're on your feet at work.

Tuesday

Your quality session. If Sunday's protocol was done properly, legs feel ready. If they don't, that's your signal to cut the session, not push through.

Wednesday to Saturday

Percussion nightly for 5 minutes on the tight spots. Compression twice more in the week. Sleep first, everything else second.

The 48-hour rule

Most of the damage from a long run repairs in 48 hours if you feed it, drain it and sleep. Skip those and it stacks into the next week, and the week after, until something gives in April.

A note on the science

Percussive massage improves short-term range of motion and reduces perceived soreness; intermittent pneumatic compression improves circulation and reduces heavy-leg feeling after hard efforts. Read the summaries on our recovery page. Neither replaces sleep and food.

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